Theresa May urges Britons to unite after 'divisive' EU campaign in New Year's message

Theresa May urges Britons to unite after 'divisive' EU campaign in New Year's message

THERESA May has urged Britons to come together and unite as “one great union” following a “divisive” 2016 in her New Year’s message – and added that the opportunities for the UK in 2017 "are greater than ever".

The Prime Minister said that the Brexit campaign had threatened to pull the nation apart along the lines or “Leave” or “Remain” but pleaded for the UK to come together to ensure that the best possible Brexit deal can be achieved.

The former Home Secretary promised to deliver on Brexit in the New Year and negotiate the “right deal, not just for those who voted to leave, but for every single person in this country” when talks get underway with the remanining EU nations.

Theresa May's political career in pictures

Prime Minister Theresa May has promised to 'build a greater Britain'

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (R) meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May in the capital Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 05 April 2017. May is visiting Saudi Arabia as part of her Middle East trip to boost diplomatic ties in the region

In her optimistic New Year's message, Mrs May's quoted the murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, who said that “we are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us”.

The Prime Minister added: "I know that the referendum last June was divisive at times. I know, of course, that not everyone shared the same point of view, or voted in the same way.

"But I know too that, as we face the opportunities ahead of us, our shared interests and ambitions can bring us together."

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Theresa May quoted Jo Cox in her New Year's address

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Angela Merkel took a swipe at Britain her her New Year's address

Mrs May’s message comes in stark contrast to that of Angela Merkel, who gloated that Britain would not face a “happy future” outside the crumbling EU in her own New Year’s address.

The German Chancellor admitted the EU would suffer “deep cuts” due to Brexit, but that “Germans should never deceive ourselves into thinking that a happy future could be achieved as nation separately”.

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall also delivered a stark warning to Mrs May in his own New Year's message, urging the Prime Minister to deliver a “clean Brexit” which would give the UK full control over immigration and bring an end to British payments into the coffers of the EU.